Blue Wink-2023 Conference: Speakers and full programme
The Blue Wink-E 2023 Conference organised by B2E CoLAB, on the theme of “How to Finance the Blue Bioeconomy”, will be attended by several leading figures on the national scene. The keynote speaker at the conference will be Carlos Zorrinho, a member of the European Parliament. There will also be two round tables. The first on “Financial innovation: instruments and strategies”, with Filipe Grilo, from Porto Business School, Ruben Eiras, from Fórum Oceano and João Pereira, from Portugal Ventures. The second on “Financing challenges and opportunities: case studies”, with Hermano Rodrigues from Ernst & Young, Tânia Ferreira from Sea4us and the Oceano Azul Foundation. You can register to attend the conference on 30 November at the Infante D. Henrique Auditorium in Matosinhos here.
Carlos Zorrinho
Member of the European Parliament
Carlos Zorrinho is married and the father of two children. He has a PhD in Information Management and is a Full Professor in the Department of Management at the University of Évora. Since 2014, he has been a Member of the European Parliament, where he is currently a full member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) and an alternate member of the Committee on Development (DEVE), where he is the European Parliament’s Permanent Rapporteur on Humanitarian Aid. He is also the Chair of the Delegation to the African, Caribbean, Pacific/European Union Joint Parliamentary Assembly (ACP/EU JPA). Until April 2022, Carlos Zorrinho was President of the Portuguese Socialist Delegation to the European Parliament. Throughout his career, he has held various academic and governmental positions, including Secretary of State for Energy and Innovation and Member of the Portuguese Parliament for several terms.
Nuno Mangas
Compete 2030
Nuno Mangas is the chairman of the Compete 2030 Steering Committee. From 2018 to 2020, he was chairman of the board of IAPMEI – Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation, I.P., leading investments for innovation and business competitiveness. He represented IAPMEI in organisations such as PME Investimentos and AICEP Global Parques, contributing to economic development. During the same period, he also served as a non-executive director of ANI – Agência Nacional de Inovação. He also served on the SME Envoy – European Commission, representing Portugal, and actively participated in bodies linked to Higher Education, most notably as president of the CCISP – Coordinating Council of Higher Polytechnic Institutes, between 2016 and 2018.
João Pereira
Portugal Ventures
João is Investment Director at Portugal Ventures, a venture capital firm that invests in the early-stage phases of Portuguese start-ups with global ambitions. He is based in Porto and has 20 years’ accumulated experience in venture capital investment, having managed programmes and funds such as Finicia, Actec and Call for Entrepreneurship, in partnership with the Portuguese scientific and technological ecosystem.
Hermano Rodrigues
Ernst & Young
Hermano Rodrigues is currently a Principal at EY-Parthenon. He worked for the consultancy firm Augusto Mateus & Associados (AM&A) between 2003 and 2017, first as a consultant and then as a partner. He was a founding partner of Sigma Team Consulting in 2001. He has extensive experience in academia, with past links to various universities in the northern region of Portugal. He has a degree in Management and a master’s degree in Economics (Economic Policy). He has a vast curriculum in meso and microeconomic studies on competitiveness, innovation, internationalisation and the sustainability of companies and industries, as well as on the subject of collective business efficiency associated with clusterisation processes and the upgrading of global value chains.
Tânia Ferreira
Sea4Us
Tânia is Business and Innovation Manager at Sea4Us, a biotechnology company specialising in the development of new treatments for unmet clinical needs using marine resources. The company is based in Sagres, where they carry out prospecting and identifying new compounds. It also has a laboratory in Lisbon, where pharmacological development and pre-clinical trials take place.
Ruben Eiras
Ocean Forum
Ruben Eiras is currently the Secretary General of Fórum Oceano. He was Coordinator for the Blue Economy, Innovation, Investment and Financing at Fórum Oceano. He was a mentor for the Ocean Stream start-up programme at Creative Lab, based in Canada, as well as a mentor for the Sustainable Ocean Accelerator and a coach for the European Commission’s Blue Invest Platform. He was Director-General for Maritime Policy at the Portuguese Ministry of the Sea, promoting an innovative and sustainable blue economy, and Advisor for Industry, Innovation and Energy to the Portuguese Minister of the Sea.
Filipe Grilo
Porto Business School
Filipe Grilo has a PhD in Economics from the Faculty of Economics of the University of Porto, specialising in Financial Crises. He teaches Economics and is a consultant at Porto Business School. He co-founded Watson & Noble, heading up the Simulation and Forecasting department. He is currently a regular presence in the media, analysing current economic events.
FULL PROGRAMME:
9.00am: Welcome session
António Isidoro, Vice-President of B2E CoLAB
9.15am: Opening session
Marta Pontes, Matosinhos City Councillor
9.30am: “Financial innovation: tools and strategies”
Filipe Grilo, Porto Business School
Ruben Eiras, Secretary General Fórum Oceano
João Pereira, Portugal Ventures
10.30 a.m.: “How to finance the blue bioeconomy”
Carlos Zorrinho, Member of the European Parliament
10.50am: Pitches from Blue Bioeconomy start-ups
11.15: Coffee break
11.45: “Financing challenges and opportunities: case studies”
Nuno Mangas, Compete 2030
Hermano Rodrigues, Ernest & Young
Tânia Ferreira, Sea4us
12.45: Closing session by the Minister for the Economy and the Sea (to be confirmed)
Parallel activities:
Blue Connect
A space where companies in the blue bioeconomy area have the opportunity to present their services, projects and competences in more detail. This session aims to foster networking, potential business and strategic collaborations between participants. Companies will have the opportunity to set up exhibition tables to showcase their products, services and innovative solutions related to the blue bioeconomy.
